Library Policies and Usage

Welcome!
As you begin law school at Suffolk University, we hope you will take a bit of time to explore the law library. This guide is designed to help you make the most of the services and the collections we provide. We feel certain you will find the collection and our staff helpful. Please feel free to ask any library staff member if you have questions or need help. Our professional law librarians are experts at legal research and computerized resources and can speed your research. We stand ready to help you as you begin your studies.

Hours

Any changes in library hours will be posted on the library doors and the main page of the library Web site.

Access

All Suffolk University faculty have access to the Law Library. Suffolk University students needing legal research have access to the Law Library. With a current Suffolk picture ID, circulating books may be checked out. Statutes, reporters, looseleafs and journals do not circulate.

The student who made the reservation or a student invited to join the reservation must check in at the computers adjacent to the circulation desk on the 6th floor of the library.

Study room doors will remain unlocked while occupied.

Do not leave valuables unattended.

Noise Policy

Please be considerate of others and keep noise to a minimum in designated quiet zones, which are intended for individual reading and studying.

Designated quiet zones in the law library are the reading room and west side of the 6th floor and the reading room and west side of the 7th floor. (The west side is to the left as you enter the library.)

Food and Drink Policy

Food and drink—in permanent, spill-proof containers—are allowed in most areas of the library (see exception below). Please be mindful and respectful of library property and fellow patrons by avoiding spills/messes and keeping noise and odors to a minimum.

Food and drink are not allowed in room 725, the research instruction room.

Cell Phone Policy

All patrons should set their phones to vibrate when entering the library to avoid disturbing other library patrons.

Talking on cell phones is permitted in the law library in areas that are not designated quiet zones provided that the noise does not disturb other patrons.

Circulation/Reserve Services

Located immediately to the left as patrons enter the Law Library, the Circulation/Reserve Desk is the place to go for many different items. Books are checked out and renewed here, audiovisual materials are requested here, professor reserve materials can be obtained here, and daily newspapers are available at this location. Interlibrary loan materials are picked up here and study rooms are signed out here.

You can reach the Circulation/Reserve Desk at 617-573-8177.

Special Collections

The library holds a small number of items in its Special Collections. These items can generally only be accessed Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm (excluding holidays) and must be used within the library. Inquire at the Circulation/Reserve desk for assistance obtaining Special Collections items.

Reference Services

Reference librarians are available at the Reference Desk, located directly across from the entrance to the Law Library on the sixth floor. If you are looking for reference or research assistance, help in formulating Lexis or Westlaw queries, an introduction to the online library catalog, or a quick tutorial on one of the many legal databases available in the Law Library, the Reference Desk is the place to come. For more in-depth discussion of a research project, an appointment may be made with an individual reference librarian. If you cannot make it into the Law Library, reference assistance is available by phone at 617-573-8516 or via email at lawref@suffolk.edu.